Despite Hummel's injury, Purdue upbeat

Johnson confident he and Moore can lead Boilermakers to Final Four

Purdue players know basketball fans and the media have adjusted their expectations for the Boilermakers.

But that doesn't mean that they are.

After Robbie Hummel buckled his right knee in practice and suffered a second season-ending severe ligament tear on the knee in eight months, they plummeted in preseason polls.

Final Four predictions and top five rankings were tossed out and Purdue is considered a curious afterthought to many.

But in Mackey Arena, the Boilermakers are adamantly against editing their own objectives.

"I think our goals are pretty much the same regardless of Robbie's injury," senior JaJuan Johnson said. "Me and (guard E'twaun Moore) have accomplished everything but make it to a Final Four and that's what we want to do. We're going to do everything in our power to get there."

No. 14 Purdue, which was picked to finish third in the Big Ten, begins its post-Hummel era Sunday against Howard.

When Hummel went down in practice last month, the Boilermakers had one collective thought: Here we go again. The same knee injury to the same player.

"It stinks," coach Matt Painter said at Big Ten media day in Chicago last month. "It's like 'Groundhog's Day' for us."

Hummel's knee injury cut short Purdue's season a year ago in the NCAA tournament Sweet 16, where it fell to eventual champion Duke without the forward who averaged nearly 16 points and seven rebounds per game.

That experience seems valuable now.

"We have had some bumps in the road, and I think we have learned from that," Painter said. "So hopefully it has made us stronger."

Purdue still boasts two of the best players in the Big Ten in Johnson, who averaged 15.5 points, 7.1 rebounds and 2.1 blocks per game, and Moore, who averaged a team-high 16.4 ppg.

Junior point guard Lewis Jackson is healed from a foot injury and sophomore guard/forward Kelsey Barlow is expected to contribute more as a potential starter.

Rebounding, which hurt the Boilermakers at times last season, could be the most glaring weakness without Hummel.

Johnson could play more at power forward to fill Hummel's void as long as freshmen post players Sandi Marcius and Travis Carroll as well as sophomore big man Patrick Bade can handle more responsibility.

The Boilermakers realize they have to handle the pressure as well.

"The media has counted us out," Johnson said. "We're in the underdog role. We can't hold anything back."